Ravioli machine



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 2, 1948. s. MARINO RAVI'OLI MACHINE Filed Feb.28, 1945 March 2, 1948. is. MARlNo RAVIQLI MACHINE Filed Feb. 28, 1945 2sheets-sheet 2 En I DUIUHMU @U2U @MIQUEL EQU Patented Mar. 2, 1948UNITED STATES ATsNlT ortica 10 Claims.

This invention relates to a machine for manufacturing ravioli and oneobject of the invention is to provide aY machine for assembling thelayersA of dough and filling material which constitute' this foodproduct and for forming and separating the ravioli units all without thenecessity'of handling the same. andv in a generally automatic manner..

Another object of the invention is to provide a convenient form in whichthe dough may be prepared for use in the machine and placed therein inunit quantities whichare readily renewable as required.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a forming roll. forpressing the ravioli into its final` shape :andto incorporate in saidroll cutting means for completely separating the individual raviolivfrom each other.

An additional objectof the invention-is to provide an effectivemechanism for pressing the lling material fromv a container onto a sheetof dough-v in a uniform layer together with convenient means LforoperatingV the mechanism in reverse and moving itv clear of thecontainer to permit refilling the latter.

Other objects and advantages. of the invention will appear from thefollowing description taken'in connection with the drawings, in which:

Fig.,1is. a somewhat diagrammatic `and partly verticalsectional viewl ofa ravioliI` machine embodying this invention.

Fig. 2l is a transverse detail-section`l taken as indicated at.linel2--2 of Fig. 1.

Fig..3,is aiperspectiveview of av supplyv roll of dough ready forinsertion in the machine.

Fig. 4 isaface view of the forming cylinder with. cutting blades4carried thereby.

Fig. 5 is atransversesectional view ofthe cylinder taken asA indicatedyat-line 5--5V on Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentaryv and partially disassembled view showing typicalelements of `the vcylinder arranged in position Yfor their iinalassembly.

Fig. 7 isafragmentary detail section taken as indicated at line 1-1on-Fig. 5.

Fig. 8 is aV vertical sectional view showing a modified-formoflfeed-hopper for thevflling material.

Whilethereis shown and described herein certain specific structureembodying this invention it' will-'belevident to those skilled in theart that various additional modications and rearrangements ofthe-partsmay be made within the scope of.theinventionand asindicated by theappended claims.

(Cl. 10T- 1) 2 The machine herein illustrated as embodying thisinvention is shown somewhat diagrammatically to facilitate a readyunderstanding thereof and it will be understood that particularly as 5to the parts shown in Fig. 1 the proportions thereof and to sor-neextent the forms thereof may be varied asoccasion requires. The drawingshows a horizontal frame member [if in which there are journaled. a pairof rollers l2, l''car- 10 ryingl an` endless apron l'flr which ispreferably a fabric or similar material' having a limited degree ofcompressibility.I The dough from which the ravioli is to be made isprepared in the usual manner by a conventionaln machine such as abreaker but insteadA of being delivered from that machine in the for-m.off a ball or lump of dough it is deliveredY in a sheet l5' and woundspirally onto a roller l having trunnions I'S, l' projecting at bothends and beyond the margins of the sheet I5 wound on the roller. A pairof bracket armsZli, 20 extend from one end' ofthe frame lilA and areprovided with upwardly open cradles or lbearings 22 to receive thetrunnions H3. With the sheetl thus mounted' the end ofY the 25 sheet isfed between squeezing rolls 24', 2d which serve to reduce its thicknessto the desi-red amount, usualy about 71/8, and which feed the doughforward from the supply on the roller lonto the endless apron i4. Itmaybe understood that. the rolls- 24, 25. are power driven from the samepower source, such as thevmotor indicated'at 28, which drives the apronEiland that the feed rolls 24, 26 are thus driven in timed relation tothe speed oftravel ofl the apron id. The sheet ofl dough I5 is thuscarried forward'Y on theapron under a receptacle or container 3&3' fromwhich the iilling material (usually consisting ofA comminuted meat orvegetables or a combination thereof with various avoring condiments) `isfed onto the upper surface oi the sheet f5.

As shown the container 3B includes a bottom wall 32 having a slot at 34vthrough-which the material is fed and having four upstanding'parallelside walls 35 and 38 giving the container a rectangular cross-sectionwhich isuniiorm from top to bottom. Av piston or plunger 4l! is snuglyfitted to this cross-section for reciprocation vertically inthecontainer '3D and Iis connectedby links 42 to a cross bar lill. Theii'att'ene'd ends of the cross barY indicated at 45, it are guidedjilnwhich are also guided for reciprocatio'n in' the frame members 48, 68.Below the apron I4 there is journaled a shaft 52 having pinions 54, 54xed thereon and said pinions mesh with the rack bars 59, 5G, so thatrotation of the shaft 52 in the proper direction will move the rack bars5l), 5B downwardly, carrying with them the cross bar it and the plunger4d. By suitable speed reducing gearing this downward travel oi theplunger lil is arranged to occur continuously as the sheet of dough l5moves under the feed slot 3ft of the container 30 so that thelling'material indicated at @il in the container 3E) is delivered in acontinuous uniform layer onto the upper surface of the dough l5. A roll58 driven continuously at a somewhat slower peripheral speed than thatat which the sheet of dough is traveling is disposed just beyond theposition of the container 36 and serves to smooth down the layer oflling material just delivered onto the sheet of dough I5. Preferably theunderside of this roll 58 moves in the same direction as the apron l.Any of the lling material adhering to the surface of the roll 58 ispromptly removed by a scraper blade 62.

For completing the assembly another layer of dough is required. This issupplied in the form of a sheet lila similar to the sheet l5 and rolledin spiral form on a roller Ia having trunnions 53a which are supportedin upwardly open bearings 22a carried by bracket arms 64 extending fromthe frame of the machine. This frame includes uprights 66 in which thesqueezing rolls 88 and 6Fl are journaled just ahead of the position or"the sheet ld as seen in Fig. 1. This sheet IEa is fed between the rolls68, 69 which reduce its thickness in the same manner as the rolls 24, 26operate to reduce the thickness of the sheet i5 and from the rolls E8,69 the sheet I5a is delivered onto the sheet i5 with its layer offilling material @il as it is propelled forward by the apron lll. Thecomplete assembly consisting of the upper and lower layers of dough andthe interposed layer of filling material is then carried by the apronlll under the forming roll lll which is shown in some detail in Fig. 4.

The forming roll 'lil is provided with a plurality of outwardly openpockets ll which are arranged in rows extending parallel to the axis ofthe roll and which are also alined circumferentially in circular series.Each pocket is separated from all the adjacent pockets by cutting bladeswhich are preferably of corrugated form and which serve to separate theassembled layers of dough and iilling material into individual ravioliunits which are generally square in shape with scalloped edges formed bythe corrugated cutting blades. Around the margins of each pocket H andinside the area bounded by the corrugated cutting blades the formingroll or cylinder presents smooth faces or areas 'l2 which serve to pressthe marginal portions of the upper and lower layers of dough i5 and 15atogether so as to more or less seal between them a small quantity of thelling material which causes the upper layer I5@ of the dough to bulgeinto the pocket or recess 'H as the assembled material passes under theforming roll le. The corrugated blades I3 extend longitudinally of theroll 'l0 and the circular cutting blades lll are disposed at each end ofthe roll and between adjacent circular series of the pockets il andVthese cutting blades project beyond the surfaces l2 by an amountcorresponding to the .thickness of the margin of a ravioli unit when itis fully formed. The corrugated cutting blades i3 and 'lli runsubstantially in contact with the apron i4 with a supporting roller *i6disposed below the apron le and directlyY under the roll 'Ill so thatthe blades will cut through both layers of dough and even slightlyindent the fabric apron Ml to insure severance of the dough intoindividual ravioli units. These units are then carried along by thecontinued movement of the apron i4 until as the apron passes around itssupporting roller l2 the units slide onto a transfer bridge 'i8 forfinal delivery.

Under the frame Hi of the machine there is mounted a continuouslytraveling conveyor belt Si) which is shown as inclined upwardly towardthe transfer bridge 78 and which carries on its upper ply a series ofrectangular trays 82 which are placed on the conveyor manually asneeded. The conveyor belt Eli travels at substantially the same rate asthe apron ill so that one of the trays 82 is presented in position toreceive the ravioli units as they arrive along the bridge 78. And atthis point an attendant removes the trays 82 as they become lled andadjusts them if necessary to receive the continuously arriving supply ofravioli units. The trays 32 may be of any convenient construction; forexample they may be formed with rectangular wooden frames and withbottoms of wire screen cloth or the like since they serve merely astemporary carriers for the ravioli units. A plurality of such trays maybe stacked on a truck and moved to a cooking vat into which the ravioliunits are dumped from the trays for the usual cooking treatment.

Fig. 2 illustrates a convenient arrangement to permit relling thecontainer 3%] when its contents are exhausted. The shaft 52 carries (inaddition to the pinions 5d) a clutch member Sli which is keyed to theshaft and which is formed with a series of holes Sil to receive clutchpins or dowels 83 projecting from the face of a driving sprocket wheel9d. The sprocket 923 is loose on the shaft 52 and is held in engagementwith the clutch member Sil by a spring 92. A rock shaft 94 suitablyjournaled on the frame of the machine carries projecting bolts 96 whichmay be brought into engagement with the face of the sprocket wheel whenthe shaft 915i is rocked by means of its handle g8 and these projectingbolts 93 thus act as cams to force the pins 88 out of engage ment withthe clutch member Sli. When this has been done the shaft 52 may berotated in reverse direction by means of a hand crank Ille driving agear H12 which meshes with a gear ll keyed to the shaft 52 adjacent theclutch member 84. This reverse rotation of the shaft 52 carries theplunger 46 upwardly and out or the container 36. Since the links d2 arepivotally engaged with the cross bar 45, the plunger 4c may then beswung clear of the upwardly open container 3B, as indicated in dottedlines in Fig. 1, so as to permit relilling the container 30.

Figs. 4 to 7 illustrate a convenient form of construction for theforming cylinder or roll 1t. As shown in Fig. 6 the several parts areassembled upon a shaft il!) which carries a tube lll with bushings H2interposed between the tube and the shaft. Threaded collars H3 areadjusted on the threaded ends of the tube so that their flanges H4 bearagainst the outermost of the rings H6 on which the circular corrugatedcutting blades lil are formed at the ends o1 the roll 1U. The rollitself is made in cast units each of which is in the form of a collar H8having the pockets 'Il formed therein; these collars are assembled onthe tube lll with the blade members H6 interposed between adjacentcollars Il. The cutting edges, if they are tov be corrugated, may bemilled all in registration in the assembled cylinder, the

cylinder presents a surface having longitudinal grooves disposed betweenadjacent longitudinal rows of the pockets 1|. Blade bars |26 having thecorrugated cutting edges 13 are then set in these grooves extending fromend to end of the cylinder 7B, and these bars |26 may be permanentlysecured in place by soldering or other suitable means. The completedcylinder then appears as shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 5, being a transverse section of the cylinder 1D, illustrates howit operates in forming the ravioli units. This View shows the apron Iflcarrying the three layers of material, the layer iii of dough, theintermediate layer 60 of filling material, and the top layer of dough ldunder the cylinder "lil, causing the layers l5 and lia to be pressedtogether with the layer Iba bulging upwardly into a pocket 1| toaccommodate the lling material confined between the layers. Figs. 5 and'7 indicate how the circular cutters llt and the cutter bars contact theapron |55 to sever both layers of dough and separate the individualunits of ravioli from each other. Fig. 8 illustrates a modified form ofyhopper for feeding the lling material onto the lower layer of dough.- Inthis construction the hopper is upwardly open and is shownwithdownwardly converging walls |3, lil. The bottom wall |3| has a feed'slot |32 which may be understood as extending substantially over thewidth of the sheet liiof dough indicated just below the hopper. I-ntheupper portion of the hopper a pair of agitators |33 are shown journaledfor rotation and provided with blades or paddles which tend to sweep thematerial downwardly in the hopper as they rotate in the mass. A secondpair of agitators ld are mounted closely adjacent the outlet slot |32'and may be connected by gears, not shown, so as to rotate in timedrelation with their blades or paddles interengaging to feed the fillingmaterial downwardly toward the slot |32. The adjacent walls |35 of thehopper are rounded to conform to the paths of rotation of the blades ofthe agitators |34 so as to be swept clean by them, thus preventingaccumulation of the material which could not be fed out of the hopper.It will be evident that a construction of this character, if substitutedfor the container 30 and its feed plunger 40, would permit of morenearly continuous operation since additional material could beintroduced into the hopper without stopping the machine.' With eithertype of feed device for the filling material, this material will bedistributed at a predetermined rate in timed relation to the travel ofthe apron I4 which carries the sheet of dough I5. When the container 3i)and plunger 40 are employed, the drive shaft 52 will be suitablyconnected by gears or chains with the mechanism which operates the apronI4; and similarly, if the hopper of Fig. 8 is employed, the agitators|33, and particularly the feeders |34 will be geared to the same drivingmechanism 1. In a ravioli machine, a rforming cylinder h comprising ashaft, a plurality of circular units assembled on said shaft and eachhaving a single series of outwardly open pocketsk extendingcircumferentially in its surface, a plurality of annular cutting membersinterposed between adjacent units and adjacent the outer ends of the endunits of the cylinder, the pockets of said units being alined in rowsextending parallel to the shaft axis, said units and cutting membershaving notches which form continuous slots eX- tending longitudinally ofthe cylinder between adjacent rows, and cutting blades secured in saidslots.

2; In a ravioli machine, a forming cylinder comprising a shaft, aplurality of circular units assembled on said shaft and each having asingle series of outwardly open pockets extending circumferentially inits surface, a plurality of annular cuttingmembers having sinuouscutting edges and interposed between adjacent units and adjacent theouter ends of the end units of' the cylinder, the pockets of said unitsbeing aligned in rows extending parallel to the shaft axis, said unitsand cutting members having notches which form continuous slots extendinglongitudinally of the cylinders between adjacent rows, and cuttingblades secured in said slots, said blades having outwardly exposedsinuous cutting edges intersecting the cutting edges of the annular`members.

3. In aV ravioli machine, a supply roller having a sheet ofy doughwrapped around-it in a plurality of spirally disposed layers, a pair ofsqueezing rolls between which said sheet is fed and reduced inthickness, al traveling apron onto whichthe thinned sheet of doughl isdeliveredl fromsaid squeezing rolls, a container for filling materialsmounted over the apron and having a slot through' which said materialAis delivered in a layer onto said dough, a second supply roller having asheet of dough wound spirally thereon, a second pair .of squeezing rollsbetween which the second sheet of dough is fed onto the layer offilling, and av forming cylinder rotatably mounted over the apron and`having pocketsinto which the assembled layers of dough and filling arepressed, said cylinders including cutting means cooperating with theapron to separate the assembly into units as it is released from saidpockets and is carried along by the apron.

4. In a ravioli machine, a supporting frame, an endless apron andsupporting rollers in said frame on which said apron is carried forhorizontal travel, means for assembling on the apron upper and lowerlayers of dough with filling material interposed between them, means forforming the assembly into individual units each composed of upper andlower layers with filling material between them and with the two layersof dough pressed together at their marginal portions to confine thefilling, a conveyor belt mounted for travel under said apron and in thesame general direction with removable trays on said belt to receive saidunits from the end of the apron and a Xed slide bridging the spacebetween said end of the apron and the path of said trays to support saidunits during transfer from the apron to the trays.

5. In a ravioli machine, a horizontally traveling apron, means to feed asheet of dough onto said apron, a container for lling material having adelivery slot in its bottom wall disposed over the apron, and havingparallel side walls, a plunger fitting in said container between its-side walls, a cross bar above the plunger, links connecting the crossbar to said plunger, toothed racks connected to said cross bar andguided for vertical movement at opposite sides of the container, a shaftwith pinions thereon meshing with said racks, and means for rotating theshaft to force the plunger downward in the container for expressing thelling material through said slotl in its bottom wall.

6. In a ravioli machine as defined in claim 5, said means for rotatingthe shaft including a power-driven wheel, disengageable clutch meansnormally connecting said wheel with the shaft,

^ means for disengaging said clutch at will, and

gearing for rotating the shaft in reverse direction to raise the plungerout of the container to permit relling said container.

7. In a ravioli machine as dened in claim 5, means for rotating theshaft in reverse direction to raise the plunger out of the-container,and guide means by which the cross bar is maintained in a positiondirectly above the container, said links being pivotally engaged withthe cross bar to permit swinging the plunger clear of the top of thecontainer when thus elevated.

8. In a ravioli machine, a supply roller having a, sheet of doughwrapped thereon in a plurality of spirally dispo-sed layers, a pair ofrolls between which the sheet is fed, a traveling apron onto which thefed sheet of dough is delivered from said rolls, a container for illlingmaterial mounted over the apron and having a slot through which saidmaterial is delivered in a layer onto said dough, and a roller disposedat a predetermined distance above said layer with means for rotatingsaid roller at a peripheral speed less than the speed of travel of thedough for regulating the thickness of the layer of lling materialthereon.

9. In a ravioli machine, a supporting frame, an endless apron, andsupporting rollers in said frame on which said apron is carried forhorizontal travel, means for assembling on the apron upper and lowerlayers of dough with filling material interposed between them, and meansfor forming the assembly into individual units each composed of upperand lower layers with lling material between them and with two layers ofdough pressed together at their marginal portions to confine thefilling, said means Comprising a forming cylinder rotatably mounted overthe apron and having pockets into which the assembled layers of doughand filling are pressedl as the apron travels under the cylinder, saidcylinder including cutting means cooperating with the apron to separatethe assembly into units as it is released from said pockets and iscarried along by the apron.

10. In a ravioli machine, a frame, supporting rollers journaled in theframe, and an endless apron carried on said rollers for horizontaltravel andnadapted to carry an assembly consisting of a lower layer 4ofdough and an upper layer of dough with filling material interposedbetween them, a relatively rigid support under said apron over which ittravels, and a cylinder rotatably mounted over said apron and directlyabove said support, said cylinder having forming pockets in its outersurface into which the assembled layers of dough and filling are adaptedto be pressed and said cylinder including cutting blades extendingaround each pocket and cooperating with the apron and said rigid supportto separate the assembled material into units as it is carried along bythe apron.

SALVATORE MARINO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the l'lle ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,771,506 Mustin July 29, 19301,809,263 Acosta June 9, 1931 1,844,142 Barili Feb, 9, 1932 1,858,507Jenney May 17, 1932 2,001,792 Lombi (1) May 21, 1935 2,227,728 Lombi (2)Jan. 7, 1941 2,252,248 Bridge Aug. 12, 1941 2,298,644 Hummel Oct. 13,1942- FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 620,380 France Jan. 21, 1927651,349 FranceV Oct. 9, 1928

